‘Refrigerator Magnet Attraction’

“The Magnetics” recently offered their creative refrigerator magnets made of DuPont™ Corian® samples for sale in the lobby of the new Building 730 at Chestnut Run Plaza in Wilmington.

Five employees of DuPont Building Innovations are showing their enthusiastic support for the business’s zero landfill initiative in a very unique way. They have decorated leftover 2x2 inch DuPont™ Corian® samples into magnets to sell and raise money for charity.

Kathy Varela, Marge Cherico, Karen McDowell, Bonnie Shaffer and Patti Wolfe – cleverly nicknamed “The Magnetics”– have put their artistic talents to work to create refrigerator magnets, which they recently offered for sale in the lobby of the new Building 730 at Chestnut Run Plaza in Wilmington.

A few months ago, as Building Innovations was getting ready to make the move from their old building, Kathy and her team discovered a room with thousands of leftover Corian® samples. The team thought the samples would be shipped to Building Innovations’ Yerkes plant for recycling, but the cost of shipping was prohibitive, presenting a real recycling challenge. But The Magnetics were up to the task, and jumped at the chance to show their support for BI’s zero landfill program by repurposing the unwanted Corian® samples. The women got into high gear and decorated the Corian® samples with fun themes that ranged from beach and sports to movie and storybook characters.

“To see this kind of enthusiasm and team spirit for zero landfill spreading throughout our entire business is nothing short of fantastic,” said Tim McCann, president of DuPont Building Innovations. “I couldn’t be more proud.”

Doug Baker, North Americas director for the business, said the magnet sale has done more than just show support for environmental stewardship at Building Innovations.

“The Magnetics also have raised money for charity,” Doug said. “By selling over 2,000 magnets so far, they’ve been able to contribute a remarkable $3,000 to the local Ronald McDonald House in Wilmington.”

“We chose the Ronald McDonald House because we are all parents, some of us grandparents, and being able to help children was a soft spot for all of us,” Kathy said. “We will probably pick other charities, too, moving forward.”

Kathy estimates there are probably more than 10,000 Corian® samples remaining and the team plans to continue their work throughout the year, introducing fall and holiday themes.

“As a team, we are so proud of what this project has become. We know that we are contributing to zero landfill and, at the same time, we are reaching out to help others in our community,” Kathy said. “When we think about the countless hours that the five of us have given freely- gluing, scrapbook shopping, and even cleaning the samples- it just inspires us to keep going.

“We are truly thankful for the individual and business support we’ve received both internally at Building Innovations and throughout DuPont. It really means so much to us.”